Certain item types are rated and/or sold with individually determined sound ratings that are indicative of various sound-related characteristics of the items. For example, the sound rating may be indicative of how well a particular item insulates sound on one side of the item and/or how well the item reflects sound within a room. Flooring materials, ceiling materials, wall coverings, windows, doors, and other building materials are often sold with printed or otherwise visually-apparent information about these sound ratings, and periodically this information includes comparisons to other common noise levels as reference points for consumers. For example, the information may suggest whether or not a person could hear a conversation at normal volume through the item, a vacuum cleaner operating in an adjacent room, and/or the like.
Even with the inclusion of comparison information for consumers to better understand sound ratings for various items, consumers may still have difficulty in comparing sound ratings for various items when shopping. Therefore a need exists for concepts enabling consumers to more easily compare sound ratings for various items.